Volleyball team looks for upsets

Bulldogs face No.1 Cheyenne Mountain at 4 p.m. today

The Moffat County High School volleyball team hopes that all of its fight wasn't used up in the come-from-behind victory at Delta last Friday.

That's because the team has more volleyball to play.

"The girls responded to the pressure against Delta," coach Becky Howlett said about her team's 19-25, 19-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-10 win. "I think this team naturally responds to pressure like that and they'll have some pressure this weekend."

By beating Delta, the Bulldogs earned the final spot for the postseason in the Western Slope League. They are the sixth seed in the six-team District 5 Tournament at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs starting today.

The Bulldogs face No. 1 seed and the No. 1 team in the state, Cheyenne Mountain, at 4 p.m. today. At 5:30, they will face No. 4 seed Pueblo South in pool play. The top two teams in pool play advance to the semifinals Saturday.

"I'm confident we'll be playing on Saturday," Howlett said. "I've scouted both teams, and I think with our experience in our conference we'll be able to play with the teams."

Howlett said that Cheyenne Mountain's strength is three strong hitters. This week, the Bulldogs are getting a full dose of blocking practice.

"Our missing exponent this year has been blocking," she said. "So that is our focus this week."

Last year, the Bulldogs went in as the fourth seed in their district and finished second, moving on to the regional tournament.

"I would really like to see Steamboat and us in the final," Howlett said. "I think our conference is really tough, and it would be nice to see more representation from it in the regional."

Steamboat Springs is the second seed in the tournament and is in the pool opposite Moffat County. The Sailors will face Mullen and Woodland Park in its pool.

As the tournament approached, Howlett said her team was looking forward to the unknown competition at the district.

"There's an unknown factor that is nice," she said. "You just go out there and play."

David Pressgrove can be reached at 824-7031 or dpressgrove@craigdailypress.com.